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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23138761">Snapshots in Time</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vintage_Gold/pseuds/Vintage_Gold'>Vintage_Gold</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Arrow (TV 2012)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, F/M, Family Feels, Guilt, Incest, Love, Retrospective, Secrets, Sibling Incest, protective brother, queencest</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 08:53:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,657</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23138761</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vintage_Gold/pseuds/Vintage_Gold</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“He can’t deny her anything, he never has been able to.”</p>
<p>Oliver struggles with his feelings, feelings that he most definitely shouldn’t have.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Oliver Queen/Thea Queen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. I.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Sentences in <i>italics</i> are quotes from various episodes, either said by Oliver, Thea or made in reference to their relationship.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I.</p>
<p><em> “I knew it, I knew you were alive. I missed you so much.” </em> </p>
<p>Oliver loves Thea more than anything. More than anyone – Laurel, Felicity, Diggle. They all mean so much to him, however Thea comes above that. She's his world. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> “Whoever I am, I am someone that will do whatever – whatever it takes to save my sister.” </em> </p>
<p>It scares him, what he’s willing to do to keep her safe and how distracted he can get with this thought when he’s out in the field. It's not easy being the Arrow when all he wants to do is protect her, and be the big brother she’s been missing for the past five years. </p>
<p>It's not like he wants to keep secrets from her. He treads carefully because he’s fully aware she perceives all he’s done is lie to her since his return; still, with him being the Arrow, he cannot, <em> will not</em>, risk putting her in danger. Therefore, it's inconsequential to him when he breaks the neck of her previous drug dealer or even disowns his own mother for lying about her parentage. Oliver can’t be forthcoming the way he wants, not if it will cost him her. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> “Have you noticed how hot your sister’s gotten?” </em> </p>
<p>This is exactly the problem – he most definitely has. Since he’s come back, he can’t keep the many ways in which she has grown and filled out, off his mind. Her long, ivory legs, the softness of her features and sparkling eyes. The swell of her rounded breasts leading to the taut, smooth stomach and lushness of her curved hips. </p>
<p>He thinks if Tommy has noticed it, and he <em> himself </em> surely has, then how many other guys have too? No, he pushes that thought to the back of his mind. Brothers shouldn’t be jealous over their sisters, at least not in that way. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> “I have something for you.” </em> </p>
<p><em> “You did not come back from a deserted island with a souvenir.” </em> </p>
<p><em> “It’s a </em> <em> Hozen </em> <em> and in Buddhism, it </em> <em> symbolises </em> <em> reconnecting. I kept it in the hopes that one day, it would reconnect me with you.” </em> </p>
<p>He thinks back to when he first arrives from the island. Thea is so happy to see him yet she’s emotionally disconnected, part of her damaged from mourning her father and assumed-dead brother for far too long. The guilt cuts him deep, slippery and sharp, like a knife slicing through him when he considers how she’s partying, alongside the drugs and reckless behaviour. Maybe because of him, because she’s alone and has no one to reach out to. He feels guilty and endlessly responsible. </p>
<p>He smiles when he appreciates the young woman she’s becoming now. She doesn’t indulge in any of those things anymore. She’s exchanged them for a more dutiful and determined nature, working for Laurel and eventually becoming the owner of Verdant, his former club. Thea is responsible now; she’s quick-witted and has a good heart. He finds her incredibly beautiful and even if she’s a bit too trusting or wears her heart on her sleeve sometimes, he loves her completely. In spite of her past flaws, because he knows he’s the last one to talk on that. She's grown up tremendously in the time he’s been gone, and is growing a lot more, right before his eyes. He weighs up how it’s just the two of them now. No Moira, no Robert, no Tommy. Just Ollie and his Speedy. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> “If we’re not together, then...we’re not even really alive.” </em> </p>
<p><em> “And even if you don’t need me, I need you. Please just consider what I’m saying.” </em> </p>
<p>He realises his secret is about to put her in danger, the one thing he has always tried to keep her from, and he thinks he would rather die than let harm come to her. After all the events that have brought them heartache, there’s nothing she can’t handle. </p>
<p>He knows he can tell her anything when he finally allows himself to open up, he has no more reasons to hide from her. It's now, he thinks, or never. </p>
<p>&gt;&gt;&gt; </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. II.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sentences in <i>italics</i> are quotes from various episodes, either said by Oliver, Thea or made in reference to their relationship.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>II.</p><p>
  <em>“I have to show you something…”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“All those times I got mad at you for being a flake, or telling me something I knew that had to be a lie, you were saving someone’s life…thank you.”</em>
</p><p>“Ollie? Oliver! Come over here please, I made you something.” Thea beckons her brother to come downstairs from his room.</p><p>Seconds later Oliver appears before Thea, his mouth slightly ajar. “You made breakfast? For me?”</p><p>“Yes. Don’t look so surprised, I can cook you know. All that time living in this big, empty house. I got bored.” Thea shrugs. “So, I learnt some useful things from the very kind help.”</p><p>Oliver sits down and looks at the food spread on the countertop – pancakes with butter and syrup, scrambled eggs and a selection of sliced fruit.</p><p>“Well, how does it taste?” Thea asks nervously after Oliver bites into one of the pancakes.</p><p>“It’s…it’s very good. This is delicious.” Thea’s smile widens into a grin, welcoming the relief of her brother's answer.</p><p>“I didn’t know you could cook this good.” He hopes the surprise isn’t too evident in his voice.</p><p>“I didn’t know either.” Thea quips back as she takes his fork, trying a section of the pancakes. Oliver watches her catch a small trail of syrup quickly by licking her lips.</p><p>“Right, I’m off to work and I guess you’re off to wherever it is that you go.” Thea winks as she stands and gives him a peck on the cheek. “Enjoy.”</p><p>Oliver waits for her to leave before he swipes his finger over where she’s lightly kissed him, then brings it to his own lips. He exhales slowly – the faintest taste of syrup lingers, mixed with the heady scene of her perfume wafting in the air. His heart swells, in this moment he is truly happy.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“If you knew, you would see me differently.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“No, I’ll always see you as my big brother.”</em>
</p><p>“Speedy?” Oliver calls out from the lounge. “Where are you?”</p><p>“I’m here Ollie.” Thea appears from behind the television with a stack of DVDs, before sitting on the sofa. “I was trying to adjust the cables, I thought we could do an old-school movie night. I have your favourites.”</p><p>Oliver nods, walking closer to her, then joins her when she settles on the couch. He puts his arm around the back of where she’s sitting.</p><p>“What did I do to deserve you Speedy?”</p><p>“Well, don’t thank me just yet. There are still some romantic comedies that I want to watch later.”</p><p>Oliver shakes his head in mock distress as the film starts and Thea dims the lighting from her remote control. He tries not to gulp too heavily when she snuggles into him, her head resting on his chest and her arm near his waist.</p><p>One hour, some minutes into the movie and Oliver is enjoying himself, much more content than he ever is these days, however it’s getting increasingly difficult to concentrate on the film with his baby sister beneath him. Her hand is warm against his thigh and her chest softly brushes against him every time she breathes in or out. Oliver clears his throat as he sinks himself lower on the couch, trying to disguise adjusting himself; lest his sister connects with anything too hard.</p><p>“Ollie…what’s wrong? You seem a little tense?”</p><p>With only the light coming from the paused television illuminating the side of her face, Thea is so very beautiful. She always is to him. Her dark eyes are piercing, never leaving his and Oliver has to fix his composure before speaking.</p><p>“Since you found out, you’ve been extra nice to me.”</p><p>“Ollie, I’m always nice to you!”</p><p>“Thea…is this some kind of pity or twisted gratitude? You don’t have to do this.”</p><p>“It’s not. Why would you think that?”</p><p>Oliver remains quiet, so Thea continues. “Look, I think what you’re doing as the Arrow is amazing, saving all those lives, all those people…although it is a little weird to think of my brother as some green masked vigilante –” Thea adds in, eliciting a half-smile from Oliver.</p><p>“– but you’re still my older brother and I love you for you.”</p><p>“I love you too, Thea. Always.”</p><p>“Then what’s the problem?” She asks however is again met with silence from Oliver. She looks at him knowingly. “Ollie, I know you think of the past…what you went through and how we used to be. I know I wasn’t the best when you came back too, but we’re passed that now. I don’t want you going back to that place in your head either.”</p><p>He realises even if Thea doesn’t always know what’s going on, she can read him and discern when something is wrong. She sees deeper than his controlled and stoic mannerisms. Hence, he can only listen when Thea appeals to him again. “I miss you. I just want to spend time with you and have my big brother be happy.”</p><p>Oliver hesitantly exhales whilst Thea holds his gaze, then comes to rest her forehead on the side of his face. The moment feels conspicuously intimate, more intimate than it should ever be between a brother and a sister.</p><p>“That’s just it Thea. I’m your older brother.”</p><p>“You are, but you spend all this time helping other people and I want to help you.” Thea tries again as Oliver closes his eyes, still disbelieving of the situation.</p><p>“I’ve seen the way you look at me and I want to help…” Her words linger, her eyes lower, and she trails a gentle hand up his chest. She’s breaking him from the inside out and she doesn’t know it.</p><p>Oliver is sure she doesn’t catch the implications of what she’s saying. She wants to help him because she’s his younger sister who idolises him, still the Speedy that used to chase after him as a child, but she can’t possibly realise the deepest, darkest desires he has for her – <em>his own sister</em>. Oliver knows he’s meant to protect her, look out for her in the way family should, yet he can’t help himself. Not when she’s so close and holding onto him and his every word.</p><p>“You’re stunning Thea, I don’t think I can resist if –”</p><p>“It’s okay.” She easefully places small kisses on the side of his face. “It’s okay.”</p><p>Cautiously, he tilts her head towards his and kisses her. It’s brief, but her lips are soft and yielding on his, and it’s all he needs.</p><p>He lets himself relax completely when she wraps her arms around him, encircling him in her warm embrace.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Oliver…I know how much you love your sister…”</em>
</p><p>He doesn’t think anyone would really know the extent. If he has to tread back into darkness, literally enter the league of assassins to save her, he will because Thea has his heart, his thoughts, she has all of him. He doesn’t think she knows this either.</p><p>Previously, Oliver is content to settle for the chaste pecks and Thea looking up at him with adoring eyes. Now, when he closes his eyes, he sees her – beautiful and warm under him. His lips on hers and her hands shyly taking his own, leading him to where he wants to be most. He forces himself to blink away these thoughts; he knows it’s wrong.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“I missed you, Speedy.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Let’s not miss each other anymore. I mean it was so much easier to be in each other’s lives when we were underneath the same roof. So…why don’t you move in with me?”</em>
</p><p>‘Oh no,’ Oliver’s mind warns him. ‘Don’t let the big, bad wolf in,’ yet when Thea tilts her head and looks up at him, Oliver knows he’s screwed. He can’t deny her anything, he never has been able to.</p><p>Before, he's able to tell himself that the kiss between them, however short, was just a one-off. Nothing further has happened since that time; he assumes she’s rationalised he was merely hurting and in need of comfort.</p><p>Although now that he’s living with her, it’s hard to get all of his wrong thoughts away. It’s there, every time he catches a glimpse of her padding from the bathroom to her own room in a towel or in the too-short night tee that she sleeps in. Since the kiss, they’ve grown closer, impossibly so, and there seems to be an unspoken understanding between them. Thea is at ease around him, happy in the thought that she’s helping and comforting him, and slowly getting him to open up to her. Oliver is just happy to be with her.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Thea, your brother loves you more than life itself.”</em>
</p><p>“Hey Ollie, welcome home.” Thea chirps up, observing Oliver sink into the couch. She doesn’t miss his sagging shoulders or the afflicted expression on his face. “Hmm, particularly bad villain today?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“Go on. What’s on your mind?”</p><p>Oliver is silent in response, as he is so very often, still calculating how to translate his thoughts into words.</p><p>“Come on Ollie, don’t go all quiet and broody on me again, speak mister.”</p><p>His eyes lower subduedly. “I worry…I worry about you Thea. That one day my enemies will catch up with me and the quickest way to me is you.”</p><p>She nods in understanding before replying to him. “Okay, but you still have to do what is needed, right? You can’t let that stop you. Every day you’re out there, you're bringing hope to so many people.”</p><p>Oliver slouches even further into the couch, running his hands over his face in weariness.</p><p>“Ollie, I’ll be fine. I mean if you’re really that worried maybe I should take up self-defence or training. I could become your sidekick, like the Red Arrow or something.” Thea nudges him jokingly.</p><p>Oliver wistfully smiles. He marvels at how she always seems to have a witty remark or light-hearted counter to almost any situation.</p><p>“Sometimes, I wonder if I can still do this.”</p><p>“Of course you can. Oliver Queen is going to save the city.” Thea says without hesitation, and when she goes forward to hug him, he pushes his fears to the back of his mind; he lets himself be reassured by her and he stops thinking.</p><p>Oliver and Thea sit together on the sofa for a while longer, her arms wrapped tightly around him and his head lightly resting on top of hers. Thea’s ear is above the steady beat of his heart and he feels a warm flush each time she shifts under him.</p><p>“You know you didn’t have to wait up for me Speedy.” Oliver gently voices, running his hands up and down her shoulder.</p><p>“It’s okay, I wanted to see you and also, I made you a cake. I remember you used to love the ones with vanilla frosting –”</p><p>He tilts his head back as she looks up at him. “Wait, you made me a cake?” He asks.</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“And all this time, you didn’t tell me?” Oliver raises his eyebrows at her,</p><p>“Well it’s still in the oven, but now I’m too comfortable to stand up and get it.”</p><p>Oliver laughs heartily at his sister who is full of surprises, she’s warming him from the outside in and after everything, he never imagines he could honestly feel this at peace with anyone. Thea lies back onto him as they fall into another comfortable silence.</p><p>“Ollie,”</p><p>“Yes, Speedy?”</p><p>“I wish you would try and use some of that hope for yourself.”</p><p>Thea’s eyes are holding his now and Oliver’s breath catches – he looks down and sees his baby sister, young and cherishing, he sees the person he loves the most. He carefully leans down and kisses her, tender and soft; and when she sighs and steadies her hands on his shoulders, he deepens the kiss, moving his hands to her back to draw her closer.</p><p>&gt;&gt;&gt; </p>
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